Merry Christmas

It seems strange to me the excitement that builds up to this day. And then it's gone, and you are left with a huge mess to clean up, an overly full tummy, kids that are way too wound up on sugar, and hopefully some good memories to share and remember throughout the years.
This year was the first time it was "just us" on Christmas Eve and morning. It was nice, but definitely quieter. We went to see the lights at Temple Square on Christmas Eve. The night was cold and beautiful, and because of the storm that had just passed, we were some of the only ones there.

Christmas morning, the kids seemed pleased with the gifts that Santa brought them, and Cierra told someone "We must have been really good this year, because Santa gave us lots of presents". I had to talk to Santa about that. He said he'll do better next year.

We have been so blessed with snow so far this year (hopefully that continues), and since we have so much, it wouldn't make very much sense not to go play in it at Christmastime.



"Mom, we need some hot chocolate."

December

This month marked eight years of marriage for Brant and me. Aside from each other, by far the best things to come from it are Cierra, Breein and Brock. Here are some pictures taken the night that we decorated the tree.

They love their dad!

We have been studying dinosaurs for the last few weeks, and to wrap up the study we went to the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point on the 5th. They loved it. After nearly 5 hours I had to drag them out of the museum so that we could go home and get some dinner ready. Their favorite was digging the dinosaur bones in the sandbox. Next up...Ancient civilizations!

Well, to all of our family and friends, Merry Christmas! May you be blessed throughout the coming year. We love you all.

Christmas time is here

Ok, the reason that I titled this blog Ready, Set, Go, was not because my first entry was about a freezing race (I didn't even notice the correlation until after I posted), but because that is what I feel like the alarm clock is saying when it goes off in the morning. Here are some of the things that happened this week: Thursday night Cierra had a choir performance. They sang 5 songs about America and did a really nice job. Then on Saturday, we went to watch her perform at the Festival of Trees. She danced in one ballet number and one jazz number and she did so well! I loved watching her. She worked hard, and it really paid off; I am so proud of her. ( She's the one in the center of the pictures, with brown hair in pigtails.)

Also at the Festival of Trees, I got to see the tree put together by the Utah Home Educator's Association (UHEA). I was on the committee for it, but hadn't been able to find someone to babysit, so I couldn't help decorate. Here is what it looked like.


I am not sure how much it got, but it did sell, and I was very glad to see that. So, Christmastime is here, and we have another very busy week. Ready, Set, Go!

Done with turkey

I am sorry - the only picture I took of Thanksgiving weekend was of crazy Brant and I just before running a 5k in 19 degree weather. He did really well with a time of 19:05 (or maybe less, as he might insist on my telling you, due to a lapse in time to actually get to the starting line). My time was definitely less desirable at 32:24, but I was proud of myself for finishing at all. I was glad that I did it, though, before I ate at least 4 "Thanksgiving dinners" over the next 4 days. I think I have had enough turkey for a while. I did enjoy the time spent with my family, and on Friday Brock did not yell at me once! That made my weekend. Happy Thanksgiving.